Greetings GraceLife!  

We hope that amidst the to-do lists, last-minute shopping/mailing, event planning, and traveling, perhaps, you are able to find some quiet time with our God, thanking Him for who He is, for how He provides for us every day, and how grateful we are for His Grace, Mercy, and Love.  Make time for the Greatest Giver, the Father who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to dwell among us, to live for us, and to die for us, that we might be redeemed in His sight.  Praise God!

To help you navigate this busy season, we offer the following reminders.  (Note:  ML is Mount Lockwood; MB is Mount Beneva.)
 
Dec 17th – Bible Study, Sisters in Prayer, BLAZE Youth at MB, 7pm
 
Dec 18th – Ladies’ Bible Study at MB, 10:15am – noon; Deep End, Dinner/Bible Study at ML, 7pm
 
Dec 20th – Men’s Bible Study at MB, 8am

Dec 21st – at MB

  • 9am worship service 
  • 10:30am worship service
  • 10:30 – 11:30am -- Christian Education (CE) classes. 

 
Dec 21st – GLKids Reason for the Season Celebration AND Youth event, 3-5pm at the MB Gym!
 
Looking ahead…
 
Dec 24th –Candlelight Service times on Christmas Eve, 4:30 and 6pm, at MB.  You are invited to bring cookies to share as we enjoy fellowship in the lobby between the two services.
 
Dec 28th – Our Monthly Prayer Meeting will be held from 4-5pm in the MB Auditorium/Sanctuary. 
 
Jan 4th – First Sunday (bring-a-side-dish) Luncheon, 11:30am – 1pm, MB Gym!  
 
See below for more details!

Last Saturday, the Women’s Christmas Luncheon was a joyful gathering of 85 women, getting to know each other better, admiring each other’s festive table settings, sharing a delicious lunch, then listening to a riveting testimony by guest speaker, Cara McConnell.  Organizers were Laura Davis, Cean Cerny, Sandy Fogarty, and Karen Bang – thank you, ladies, wonderful job!  Special thanks go to the clean-up crew plus the work of John Marlette and his team for reconfiguring our Auditorium/Sanctuary for Sunday morning!
 
Meanwhile… members from our Missions Committee served the Salvation Army’s seasonal fund-raising bell-ringers at the Publix on Beneva just south of GraceLife Mount Beneva.  Many thanks to our volunteers! 
 
Sunday mornings at Mount Beneva…
  • Please let us know of any parking issues you may have.
  • The Lobby is the place for:
    • Greeters to assist you and Connection Center for bulletins/programs, sign-ups, books, t-shirts,…).  Please ask if you don’t see what you’re looking for.
    • Getting your name tags.  New name tag requests continue to be processed each week.
    • Coffee, snacks, plus some pastries are provided for your enjoyment.  They are refreshed throughout the morning by our Hospitality teams.  Please bring only lidded beverages into the Auditorium/Sanctuary.  (We ask that you avoid taking food into the Auditorium/Sanctuary.) 
  • There are two services in our Auditorium/Sanctuary – one at 9am and one at 10:30am; Christian Education classes are held from 10:30 – 11:30am.  Adult CE classes are held in the Gym; Youth CE classes are held in the Loft; Children’s classes are in the Children’s Wing.
  • During the worship services, you’ll find Connect Cards in the under seat bin of the chairs.  Please use these for most any information about yourself you want to provide (contact info, interests, prayer needs,…)
Usual Wednesday evening activities at Mount Beneva (starting at 7pm) this week (December 17th) will include the Adult Bible Study in Room 105, our Sisters in Prayer in the Fellowship Corner, and our Youth in the Gym Loft.  For the Adult Bible Study time, led by Elder Jeff Lawson, we will cover the first part of chapter 2 of Tim Keller’s book (“Judges For You”, pages 29-34).  Please have read Judges 2:6-3:6.  Why did Israel’s faith collapse so quickly after Joshua’s generation died? How should we understand God’s anger in Judges 2?  Is Divine anger compatible with Divine love?
 
A Ladies’ Bible Study/Grace Group will meet this Thursday, December 18th, 10:15am – noon, in Room 105, at our Beneva campus.  The focus of the study is the book of Psalms and is led by Linda Swartz. 
 
Later Thursday, December 18th, the Deep End/Grace Group will meet at 7pm for dinner and study at our Lockwood campus, led by Cindy Lanoue-Foster.
 
This Sunday, December 21st, we’ll offer two Adult Christian Education (CE) classes, from 10:30 – 11:30am, in the Gym, at Mount Beneva as Elder Mike Hamel continues a study of the Sermon on the Mount.   Elder Jeff Lawson will continue to lead a study of Biblical Love with a secondary resource of Jonathan Edward’s book “Charity and Its Fruits”.   
 
Also this Sunday, December 21st, our GLKids and Youth will celebrate the Reason for the Season from 3-5pm in the MB Gym!  It’s sure to be a fun time, so come join in!
 
Youth news for you!  We have a student ministry program just for you: Christian Education hour Sunday mornings from 10:30-11:30am; then 4-6pm Sunday evenings; and, mid-week Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm.  You can also join this GraceLife group by clicking this link. https://gracelife-sarasota.churchcenter.com/groups/unique/blaze-youth
 
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Some in our GraceLife family, notably Brenda Castleyoung and Betty Tucker, create beautiful greeting cards for various occasions.  If you’d like to participate in some card-making and fellowship, please call Brenda Castleyoung, 443-254-5422 for meeting times and days.  Also, if you have cards you’d like to donate for re-purposing, you may leave them at the Beneva office in a bag/container marked for Brenda.  Thank you!
 
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We are initiating an effort to pair up those in need of a ride on Sunday mornings with those who can provide a ride.  There is a sign-up sheet in the  lobby of MB to collect information on those in need.  In terms of a near-term need, please respond directly to this email.  
 
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Volunteers needed for Hospitality team!  Please respond to this email if you are interested in helping with the “food” side of fellowship!  Thank you!!!
 
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Beyond this week, here are some upcoming events for your planning purposes.  Another great way to learn more about events is to visit our website gracelifesarasota.com and select EVENTS and choose Calendar or Featured Events.  Check it out!   
 
December 24th -- Instead of our usual Wednesday evening activities at MB on December 24th, we will be having both a 4:30pm and a 6pm Candlelight service!   “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).  You are invited to bring cookies to share as we enjoy fellowship in the lobby between the two services at MB.
 
December 25th – Merry Christmas!  We will hold no services, but hope that you enjoy a wonderful day of celebration!
 
December 28th – Our Monthly Prayer Meeting will be held from 4-5pm in the MB Auditorium/Sanctuary, led by Elder Jeff Lawson and Worship Director Chris Hicks.  Please plan to join us. 
 
January 4th – Our First Sunday Luncheon of the month AND year will be held in the MB Gym after the 10:30am worship service (from 11:30am – 1pm).  A sign-up sheet will be available this Sunday in the lobby.  Otherwise, you may sign up through our website.  Please plan to bring a side dish to share if you can!  
As a reminder:  Our finances will be equitably shared for the remainder of this calendar year, leading to a merged system for 2026.  You may continue to provide tithes and offerings in the manner you are accustomed through 2025.  As we enter 2026, you’ll want to identify your giving recipient as “GraceLife Sarasota” by whatever payment mechanism you use.  Also note that Givelify will no longer be available, so the few of us who use Givelify will need to use a different giving option (through our website, Church Center, checks, recurring payment through our banks,…).  Now is the time to plan!
 
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Dreama Fumia (on behalf of the Admin Team), GraceLife Sarasota!